amyhildreth

I did! Monday, May 22, 2006: Amy’s first surgery. It went OK, I have a swollen right cheek and I have to take pain meds to get motivated to do anything beyond sit in bed and mourn my inability to open my mouth, but it’s over and that’s what’s important. I’ve been putting this off for ages so thankfully it’s just done.

Well, now I know it will be two years before I actually can attend graduate school, but my preferences right now are tentatively:

Ph.D in English Literature
Cornell University
McGill University (Canada)
Boston University
Emory University
Toronto University (Canada)
SUNY at Buffalo Poetics Program
University of Wisconsin-Madison

MFA in Creative Writing
Cornell University (in conjunction to a Ph.D)
University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop

MA in Ethics (and similar programs)
University of Essex (UK) – Public Policy
Trinity College Dublin (UK) – Reconciliation Studies
University of Exeter (UK) – Theology

Finished! Now I just have to do my revisions. I got a 2: minor revisions, which is the best anyone does anyway (who is perfect?)—I’m happy. Here’s my feedback:

“This thesis is a very mature piece of
scholarly writing. Ms. Hildreth is clearly
earnest and passionate about her subject matter,
which I applaud. The thesis is extremely
well-organized, well-researched, and historically
meticulous in a way one rarely sees in
undergraduate or undergraduate honors writing. I
admire the care with which she approached her
research and her subject matter. Her revisions
to this point have all been wonderfully executed
and contribute to a fine final document. Brava
to her for a profound, thoughtful, insightful
project that was a pleasure to read!”

“This is a lively, principled, clear-headed,
and convincing reading of three of Muriel
Rukeyser’s most important poems as instances of
ethical activism. Drawing on Bakhtin, Derrida,
and Levinas, Hildreth reads “Akiba,”
“Mediterranean,” and “The Gates” as instances of
testimony meant to transmit the
responsibility-in-excess-of-law theorized by
Derrida as “excessive responsibility.”

The thesis is thoughtfully organized, giving
Amy ample space to introduce the essay’s
philosophical foundations, give the poet’s
background, and place the central poems on the
established theoretical and biographical grid.
The writing is clear and often eloquent in its
arguments and on its purposes.”